Forest official injured in leopard attack in Kannur; injured leopard found dead later

A beat forest officer was injured in a leopard attack at Palathumkadavu in Ayyankunnu panchayt in Kannur on Wednesday evening, while the injured leopard was later found dead in the nearby forest area.

The incident occurred in the Barapole project area when beat forest officer K. Rahul was attacked during a search operation. He was rescued after fellow forest officials fired shots in the air using a 12 bore gun to scare away the animal. Rahul was taken to a private hospital at Irrity for first aid and later shifted to the Kannur district hospital.

The leopard, which reportedly had old and deep injuries, was subsequently found dead. Forest officials suspect that the animal died due to wounds and severe weakness.

The carcass of the animal was shifted to the Aralam RRT headquarters hospital for post-mortem . Forest officials said the exact cause of death could be confirmed only after post-mortem.